James t



(No Model.)

J. T. ALDRICH.

REVOLVING FIRE ARM.

Patented Aug. 14, 1883 n. PETERS. Phmo-Lilhogmphir. Wnhmglon, n, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICEC JAMES T. ALDRICH, OF NORlVICH, CONNECTICUT,ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF I AND VILLIAM H. BABCOCK, OF SAME PLACE.

REVOLVING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 283,185, dated August14, 1883.

Application filed May 4, 1883.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES T. ALDRICH, of Norwich, in the county of NewLondon, and in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a sideelevation of a pistol provided with my improvement, a portion of theframe andlock covering-plate being broken away to show the relativearrangement of the parts in operative position with the hammer down.Fig. 2 shows aperspective view of the rear portion of the cylinder andthe lock-containing part of the frame, the covering-plate being brokenaway and the hammer shown at half-cock. Fig. 3 shows a similar view withthe hammer shown at full-cock, the trigger being shown in dotted linesin the position which it takes when it is pulled in the act of firingthe pistol. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the hammer and trigger,respectively, and Fig. 6 is a similar view of a slightly modified formof trigger.

The object of my invention is to provide an improvement in the lookingor stopping 1nechanism for the revolving cylinder ofapistol; and to thisend it consists in the trigger provided with a projection to engage thenotches in the cylinder, as hereinafter described, and specifically setforth in the claims.

In the drawings, A designates the revolving cylinder of the pistol, Bthe hammer, and C the trigger. The hammer has the usual rearwardextension to be engaged by the end of the mainspring. The trigger isprovided with a spring, 0, to throw out its lower end and keep itssharpened upper end, 0', bearing against the face of the notchedhammer-cam H in the ordinary way. To the side of the hammer, below thepivot-screw, is pivoted the hand D for turning the cylinder by engagingat its forward end, as the hammer is raised, with the teeth of theratchet on the rear end of the cylinder.

The trigger is provided at its upper end with a proj eeting portion, F,extending forward from its front face. This portion, as shown, isthinner than the trigger, being made of a sufficient thickness to enterfreely the notches a (No model.)

in the rear edge of the cylinder and yet hold the cylinder withoutrotary play. Its front end is deeply notched, so as to leave the twoprojecting portions f and 1 the notch being designated by b. The lowerprojection, g, is of such a length and shape, and so situated withrelation to the trigger, as to enter one of the notches a on thecylinder when the 11ammer is down, and the shape of the hammercam allowsthe upper end of the trigger to be thrown back by the action of thetrigger-spring. (See Fig. 1.) lVith the hammer in this position thecylinder will therefore be positively locked from turning by theprojection on the trigger. lVhen the hammer is raised to halfcock, thehammer-cam is of such a shape that the upper end of the trigger, as itengages the half-cock or safety-notch, cannot fall so far back, throughthe stress of the trigger-spring, as when the hammer is down. The lowerprojeetion just clears the edge of the cylinder and cannot be forcedinto the notches therein. The cylinder can then be turned freely as theedge of the same, as seen in Fig. 2, is engaged by neither of theprojections f or g, but occupies a position between the two in the notchI). The hammer-cam H is of such a shape between the half and full cocknotches as to keep the trigger, and consequently the projectionsf and g,in substantially the same position with relation to the edge of thecylinder as they have in Fig. 2. The hand D is then free to turn thecylinder the requisite distance to bring another chamber into firingposition while the'hammer is being raised to the full-cock notch. Thebottom of this notch, against which the upper end of the triggerstrikes, is nearer the center of motion of the hammer-cam than that ofthe half-cock notch, so that the trigger is forced by its spring fartherback and the projection g is again brought up into one of the cylindernotches, as it was in Fig. 1. (See Fig. 3.)

The pulling upon the trigger to release the hammer and fire the pistolcarries the projection 9 and the notch 1) down below the edge of thecylinder and brings the projection f into the notch a, just vacated byprojection f, {so that the cylinder is held positively locked fromaccidental turning during the fall of the hammer, and the chamber ismaintained properly in line with the bore of the barrel. Upon theremoval of the pressure on the trigger,

after the hammer has fallen into the position (shown in Fig. 1) to firethe cartridge, the projection g is by the stress of the trigger-springthrown up again into engagement with the cyliiiderqiotch, which now isabove it and in its path. The parts are then all in position for arepetition of the action and operation, as set forth above.

As will be seen in the drawings, the rear face of the cylinder is cutaway just above or within the line of notches, so that a thin rim onlyis left for a short distance on each side of a notch. The line of theintersection of the depression with the plane of the end of thecylinder. is about the are of a circle described from outside thecircumference of the end of the cylinder.

By my construction and arrangement of the locking device directly uponthe trigger itself I very much simplify and cheapen the 0011- structionof the pistol, avoiding the levers and actuating-springs ordinarilyemployed to operate in connection with the trigger to properly lock andrelease the cylinder. As the locking device is fixed directly to thetrigger itself, it cannot get out of order, so as to act wrongly inrelation to the movements of the parts of the firing and cylimlerturningmechanism. The pecular construction of the end of the main portion ofthe projection, as arranged in combination with the trigger, onables theone rigid piece to dog or lock the cylinder properly through the actionof the trigger-spring while the hammer is being raised, and topositively lock said cylinder in the proper position while the triggeris being pulled and the hammer is falling and striking the cartridge.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, whatI claim. as new 1s 1. In a revolving fire-arm, the rotary cylinderprovided with a series of] ocking-notches, in combination with aspring-pressed trigger formed with a rigid projection adapted to en gageone of these notches while the hammer is down. or at full-cock, andmeans for automatically moving the trigger, so as to unlock the cylinderduring the operation of cocking, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a revolving fire-arm, the rotary cylinder provided with a seriesof notches, in combination with the spring-pressed trigger bearing atits upper end directly against the hammer-cam, and provided with a rigidprojection adapted to normally engage one of the notches in thecylinder, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with the rotary cylinder provided with a series ofnotches, the spring-pressed trigger formed with a rigid projectionadapted to normally engage one of the cylinder-notches, and thehammer-cam so formed as to cause the trigger to be moved during theraising of the hammer, so as to disengage the projection from thecylinder-notch and leave the cylinder free to to be turned,substantially as shown and described.

4. In a revolving fire-arm, the rotary cylinder provided with a singleseries of lockingnotches around its rear edge, in combination with thetrigger provided with a projection adapted to engage one of thesenotches while the hammer is either down or fully cocked, and aprojection adapted to engage the same during the fall of the hammer,substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the revolving cylin- F, notched at its front endto form the two We jections f and g, the spring tending to normally keepone of said projections in one of the notches when the hammer is up ordown,- and the hammer-cam, so shaped as to move the trigger and carrythe projection out of its notch during operation of cocking, allsubstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In combination with the spring-pressed trigger carrying a projectionto lock the cylinder, the hammer-cam cut away in front, and providedwith the deep full-cock notch, and the raised portion between this andthe front carrying the half-cock notch, all so arranged that theprojection on the trigger engages a notch in the cylinder to lock thelatter from turning while the hammer is either down or at full-cock, butis forced out of engagement therewith during the operation of raisingthe hammer.

7. As a locking devicefor the notched revolving cylinder, the hammer B,hammer-cam H, shaped as shown, with portion cut away in front, deepfull-cock notch, and raised intervening portion, in combination withtrigger G, pressed by spring a, so that its upper end bears upon thecam, and provided with projections f and all substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this23d day of April, 1883.

JAMES T. ALDRICH. \Vitnesses:

I-IEZEKIAH PERKINS, \VILLIAM. H. BABCOCK.

